UEFA Champions League Final 2017 live on BT Sport

BT Sport will provide exclusive live coverage of the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final for existing subscribers and free to air audiences as Juventus take on Real Madrid in Cardiff on Saturday, June 3.

The denouement of the European club football campaign at the National Stadium of Wales brings together two giants of the game who boast 13 Champions League and European Cup titles between them.

Fresh from securing their first La Liga crown in five years, Real Madrid are now aiming to make history by becoming the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the Champions League era.

Standing in their way are a Juventus side who have endured 21 years of hurt since Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and company defeated Ajax on penalties in the 1996 final.

If anyone is equipped to end the holders’ hoodoo that has persisted since the back-to-back triumphs of Fabio Capello’s great AC Milan side of 1989 and 1990, it is surely the Spanish champions.

Zinedine Zidane’s men booked their place in this year’s final with a 4-2 aggregate triumph over bitter rivals Atletico Madrid, ensuring the competition’s most successful team will have a crack at lifting the trophy for an incredible 12th time.

It should be remembered that one of those dozen triumphs came in the 1998 final against a Juventus side featuring Zidane, when a solitary goal from Predrag Mijatovic proved the difference.

For all Juventus’ wealth of domestic accolades, the club affectionately known as the ‘Old Lady’ have too often been cast in the role of bridesmaids in this particular showpiece.

They have lost a record six of their eight finals to date, with the defeat by Real 19 years ago since being followed by a shoot-out reverse to AC Milan at Old Trafford in 2003 and a 3-1 beating by Barcelona in 2015.

With Real able to call upon the irrepressible Ronaldo – and fit-again Gareth Bale desperate to put on a show in his home city of Cardiff – the holders are, understandably, the bookmakers’ favourites to deny the Italians once more.

But the hallmark of Juventus’ run to the final has been their astonishing defensive resilience, built around the seemingly indomitable trident of Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

For Buffon, in particular, the stakes in Cardiff could hardly be higher as he gears up for potentially his last chance to add the one prize still missing from his glittering CV.

He has won 24 domestic honours and lifted the World Cup in 2006, but he is yet to hoist the most coveted piece of silverware in club football.

But Buffon is also experienced enough to know that he and his defensive cronies must be at their rugged, obdurate best if it is indeed to be third time lucky in Cardiff.

Could they somehow muzzle Zidane’s artisans and complete a remarkable Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League treble?

BT Sport’s live and free-to-air coverage of the showpiece 2017 European finals concludes on Saturday, June 3, with the 2017 UEFA Champions League final in Cardiff as Juventus face Real Madrid.

Gary Lineker will be present BT Sport’s coverage live from Cardiff and will be joined by UEFA Champions League winners Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves, who will provide their expert analysis.

Darren Fletcher leads the match commentary team alongside Steve McManaman, while Des Kelly, Lynsey Hipgrave, Matt Smith and Reshmin Chowdhury will all be part of BT Sport’s reporting team at the ground and around the city of Cardiff.

BT Sport is also host broadcaster for the first time at a major UEFA final, with almost HD 50 cameras covering every move on the Cardiff pitch, alongside 22 4K cameras for the Ultra HD feed and 12 virtual reality 360° cameras, making this the largest ever broadcast operation for a single football match.

Existing TV subscribers can tune in to watch all the action on BT Sport 2 from 6pm – kick-off at 7.45pm – with the game also being shown in Ultra High-Definition on BT Sport 4k UHD.

Non-subscribers can watch the build-up and the whole match completely free of charge on TV on BT Sport Showcase, which is available on Freeview (channel 115) and Virgin (channel 548), while Sky customers will receive BT Sport 2 SD coverage for free on the night on channel 414/433 from 7pm.

ITV will broadcast free-to-air highlights of the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final at 10.45pm on Saturday, June 3.

Mark Pougatch presents all the key moments from the night’s action at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff, with studio analysis from Lee Dixon and Glenn Hoddle, while match commentary comes from Clive Tyldesley.